Christmas traditions have rich histories

TRACI ANDERSON

Published 1:36 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

Christmas trees

What would Christmas be without a prettily adorned evergreen tree, whether it's real or not-so-real? The tradition of a Christmas tree started in Germany as early as 700 A.D. In the 1800s, this tradition was widespread in Germany and moved to England and then to the U.S. through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.

Michigan is one of the top seven Christmas tree producing states, and is the state with the most Christmas tree varieties.

In 1880, Woolworths first started selling manufactured Christmas tree ornaments. The first electrically lit Christmas tree appeared in 1882.

Christmas cards

This is the time of year when you receive items in the mail you actually enjoy opening - brightly decorated holiday cards with friendly sentiments from all kinds of people, some of whom you haven't seen in awhile. The Christmas card is a Victorian creation, which began as a kind of stationery. The first card was produced by Sir Henry Cole who worked for the British Postal Service, and an artist he hired named John Horsley. This early card was a depiction of a Christmas scene framed in three panels. Underneath appeared the now familiar phrase "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

Christmas cards were introduced in the U.S. in 1846. Today, two billion Christmas cards are exchanged each year in the U.S.

Actually, Christmas cards were preceded by "Christmas Pieces" written by school boys in England as greetings to their parents and as proof of their progress in the art of writing.

Poinsettias

This pretty plant had been a U.S. Christmas tradition since 1828. Joel Roberts Poinsett, then the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, imported the plant from Mexico. Today, poinsettias are the best selling potted plant in the United States, and $220 million worth of the plants are sold during the holiday season. There are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias available.

The colored part of poinsettias that most people think are the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves). The flowers or cyathia of the poinsettia are in the center of the colorful bracts.

Mistletoe

Don't look now, but you just may be standing under some mistletoe, and this has some romantic implications. It was in the British Isles that kissing under the mistletoe originated. A "Kissing Bow" made up of evergreens and mistletoe was hung from the rafters. Candles illuminated it. After Christmas, the "Kissing Bow" is buried, those that kissed under it would marry in the coming year.

The 12 Days of Christmas

This popular Christmas carol is one of the longest carols, if not the longest, and the carol that mentions the most birds (partridge, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, swans, and geese). The 12 days refer to the days that separate Dec. 25 from Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6. Depending on the church, Jan. 6 is the day of Christ's baptism or the day that the wise men visited baby Jesus with gifts. There are various theories to what the song means. Some believe it's simply a type of memory game for children, started in the 1780s in England. Others believe the song is a catechism and that each gift is a religious symbol; for instance, the partridge in the pear tree symbolizes the baby Jesus, the two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments, the three French hens symbolize faith, hope, and charity, and so on.

Gingerbread men, houses

One of the most popular treats this time of year is gingerbread, whether it be gingerbread men with big icing smiles or gingerbread houses fancily decorated with icing and candies. This is a tradition from England and Germany. Gingerbread has been baked in Europe since the 11th century and was a popular delicacy at fairs. There are many variations on the recipe for gingerbread, depending on the region it came from.

Rudolf (or Rudolph)

the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Sure, we know the story of this reindeer with the glowing nose that could penetrate thick fog, but what's the story behind the story? It appeared in 1939 at Montgomery Ward stores, as 2.4 million copies of a booklet entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer" were given away by store Santas. The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May. The booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was Rollo, but May's daughter came up with Rudolf instead. Gene Autry's 1949 musical version of the story was a best seller, and now the song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.

Santa Claus

Ho, ho, ho, here comes Santa Claus, but where did he come from (no, not the North Pole)? Santa Claus started with a real person named Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century. He was born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara on the southern coast of Turkey. When he was young, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt. He became bishop of Myra soon after returning to Lycia. His reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece and thousands of European churches were dedicated to him. In Holland, his legend persisted as Sinterklaas, a Dutch variant of the name Saint Nicholas. Dutch colonists took this tradition with them to what is now New York City in the 17th century. Sinterklaas was adopted by the country's English-speaking majority as the name Santa Claus.

The popular view of Santa that we have today, including the sleigh, the flying reindeer and Santa going down chimneys, came largely from two publishing events in the 1800s and one advertising campaign in the 1900s. Clement Moore wrote "The Night Before Christmas" in 1822 for his family. It was picked up by a newspaper, then reprinted in magazines, and it spread like wildfire. Between 1863 and 1886, Harper's Weekly, a popular magazine of the time, ran a series of engravings by Thomas Nast. From these images came the concepts of Santa's workshop, Santa reading letters, Santa checking his list, and so on. Coca-Cola also played a role in the Santa image by running a set of paintings by Haddon Sundblom in its ads between 1931 and 1964. The red and white suit came from the original Saint Nicholas, which were the colors of the traditional bishop's robes.

He's referred to in other countries by other names, such as Father Christmas and Grandfather Frost.

Other Christmas traditions

In some regions of Germany an unusual tradition is observed called the Christmas pickle. The last ornament that is put on the tree is a glass pickle. This ornament is hidden in the tree. On Christmas morning, the first child who finds the pickle ornament receives an extra present. Another unusual tradition is the carrot ornament, a glass ornament is given to a new bride for her tree, it is assumed to be a symbol of fertility.

In the United Kingdom, On the Christmas dinner table are noisemakers called crackers. Crackers are wrapped in fancy paper and at each end there are pull-tabs. When the tabs are pulled a loud noise or crack with some sparks is produced. Inside the cracker there may be a paper hat, a toy and some candy. In most English homes when the crackers are opened, you must put on the hat and enjoy the contents of the cracker.

In some countries such as France, children put shoes by the fireplace instead of stockings. Food for reindeer is also placed in shoes.

Christmas is certainly a holiday abundant with tradition, but the most important traditions are those created and kept by families and friends each year. They have special stories all their own.